3-year-old still in critical condition after house goes up in flames

John Thompson is in critical condition after being rescued from a fire at his home. (WRDW-TV)

News 12 at 11 o'clock / Monday, Feb. 11, 2013

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) -- A baby and his family need your help after a fire.

Sadly, little John Thompson is not doing very well. The 3 year-old is still on a respirator and in critical condition. The family says they need a lot of help, but they say what they need most are prayers.

"Should he survive, he will never be the same little John that we once knew," said James Cato, uncle of the toddler.

The baby survived the house fire. However, the toddler isn't the only one who escaped. Sandra Cato, 62, also survived, but her son, James, says she's still trying to grasp what happened.

The 3 year-old suffered smoke inhalation and went 28 minutes without oxygen. Doctors have the toddler on medicine to help his heart beat and they are still trying to determine the extent of his brain damage, but despite all this bad news, Cato is still positive.

"I'm thankful there's still hope for little John," he said.

The fire started in the kitchen, quickly consuming the house. The flames were closing in on baby John's room when a firefighter pulled him out.. The family says a quick-thinking relative jumped out of this window and then used this hose to fight the fire. It all happened fast.

"It takes just a matter of minutes. Thirteen minutes and this house was completely destroyed. Thirteen minutes," Cato said.

Sandra Cato owns the house, but she did not have homeowners' insurance. Her son says she left with what she had on. They have set up the Cato Family Recovery Fund and anyone can make a donation at any Regions Bank, but again, if you can't give, the family says to please pray for them and especially baby John.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.